Susan Granger’s review of “Broken Embraces” (Sony Pictures Classics)
Renowned Spanish filmmaker Pedro Almodovar (“Volver”) is a cinematic master, as demonstrated in this satirical, crime/noir melodrama, starring his muse, Penelope Cruz, an actress who plays an aspiring movie star.
Switching back and forth between Madrid in the early 1990s and the present time, the circuitous story revolves around grieving film director Mateo Blanco (Lluis Homar) – now known by his screenwriting pseudonym of Harry Caine – who was blinded 14 years earlier in a horrific automobile accident on the volcanic island of Lanzarote. He’s cared for by his faithful agent and former production manager, Judit Garcia (Blanca Portillo), and her sensitive son, Diego (Tamar Novas). After Diego is hurt in an accident in a disco club, Mateo distracts him with stories about his past, particularly his involvement with a corrupt businessman Ernesto Martel (Jose Luis Gomez), his gay voyeur/photographer son (Ruben Ochandiano) and his beautiful, trophy mistress, Lena (Penelope Cruz), whom Mateo so adored that he gave her the starring role in an ill-fated romp called “Girls and Suitcases,” financed by Martel. This movie-within-a-movie recalls Almodovar’s own “Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown” (1988).
Whenever Penelope Cruz is on the screen, she’s mesmerizing. When she’s not, however, the pace lags – and that’s a problem, despite Rodrigo Prieto’s exquisite cinematography, Jose Salcedo’s astute editing, Alberto Iglesias’ score, and the eventual plot revelations. But watching the compellingly photogenic Cruz morph from an Audrey Hepburn’ish waif into a Marilyn Monroe’ish femme fatale is definitely worth the price of admission. Visually, notice how every scene contains a unifying element of red; Lena’s high-heeled pumps are particularly riveting. And film buffs may recognize a myriad of movie references, particularly Roberto Rossellini’s “Voyage to Italy” (1954) with Ingrid Bergman and George Sanders, which Lena and Mateo are avidly watching on Lanzarote.
On the Granger Movie Gauge of 1 to 10, “Broken Embraces” is a stylish, intriguing 8, surreptitiously exploring themes of ambition, jealousy and betrayal which resonate long after you’ve left the theater.
